NHL offer calls for eventual drop to 50-50 share

By Kevin Allen, USA TODAY

Commissioner Gary Bettman presented NHL players with a new six-year collective-bargaining proposal that would phase in a reduction of their share of league revenues from 57% to a 50-50 split by the fourth year.

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The league's position is that players, based on the league's average revenue growth rate, would be back at 2011-12 dollar levels and begin to see increases, starting in the fourth year.

The NHL Players' Association has not provided its opinion on the NHL's calculations. When NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr left Tuesday's second session of negotiations, he said he didn't want to comment on the specifics of the proposal and headed for more meetings for players.

The two sides are scheduled to meet again Wednesday as they attempt to avoid the NHL locking out players on Sept. 15 when the current contract expires. In the last lockout, the entire 2004-05 season was canceled.

The new NHL plan also calls for new hockey-related revenue definitions, and a phased-in approach to generating financial relief for some teams.

The NHLPA wants the league to share more revenue among teams. Under its first proposal, players would reduce their share of anticipated revenue growth for three years in exchange for enhanced revenue sharing. Players would have the option of reverting to a 57% share in the fourth year.

The league's Tuesday proposal didn't address team revenue sharing. The NHL has offered to increase revenue sharing to $190 million to $200 million while the NHLPA is seeking $240 million.

The players don't believe that the league has demonstrated any reason for them to reduce their current 57% other than that NBA and NFL players have given owners a larger share.

According to details provided to USA TODAY Sports, the plan calls for fixed dollars in the first three seasons that would put players share of revenue at 51.6% in 2012-13, 50.5% in 2013-14 and 49.6% in 2014-15. In the final three years, the players and owners would split revenue 50-50.

The initial NHL proposal had called for an immediate cut of players' share of revenues to 43%.

According to the NHL's calculations, under its proposal, players would receive an 11% decrease in the first year, an 8.5% decrease in the second and a 5.5% decrease in the third.

The NHL proposal calls for a fixed salary cap of $58 million next season and then caps of $60 million and $62 million. Under the plan, the league projected a fourth-year salary cap of $64.2 million, a fifth year at $67.6 million and the final season's cap of $71.1 million.

Last season's salary cap was $64.3 million and the cap was projected to rise to $70.2 million in 2012-13.

The NHL is not asking for any rollback in current contracts, suggesting that the adjustment could be made through changes in contracting practices, increases in league-wide revenue and contributions to player escrow.

Players, as a rule, dislike the NHL's current escrow practice. They have a percentage of money taken out of their paychecks to ensure that players as a group receive no more than their collectively bargained share of revenue.

Although the league has proposed a fix-dollar amount for the first three years, the league's proposal includes a provision for players to receive more if revenue growth exceeds 10%.

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